And Suddenly You're All I Need
by Red Appassionata
Summary: Multiple oneshots featuring the history's most powerful mage and the girl that managed to break the spell on his heart. "Where did you come from?" "Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…" OC x Zeref (NOT on hiatus!)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Everything Fairy Tail related belongs to Hiro Mashima, I only own my OC.

**Obs**: As seen in the manga, Zeref is a pretty calm, self-hating being. He's scary when angered, and **will** kill, even without his conscious present. That's how I'm going to portray him.

**Obs2**: Maria is my original Fairy Tail character. Her description will be shown thorough the story, but if you don't like her appearance you can imagine a different one. C:

Enjoy~

**I**

He looked at his hands. Those hands, which he used to hate so much, that took so many lives.

Now, however, he didn't hate them as much as he did back then. With those hands, he could brush her cheeks, play with her fiery red strands of hair, hold her hands (which he found incredibly fragile, compared to his), mess her hair and everything else one could imagine.

Her hands, he mused, should be more calloused (not that he was complaining or anything) since she used summoning magic. Closing his eyes, he re-played their first meeting, which he had played over and over again in his head. It was exactly because of her magic they met in the first place.

_It was cold, too cold for an autumn evening. She was shivering and complaining in her small apartment, murmuring something about stupid heaters and why in the seven hells they had to break in the most crucial moment._

_Sighing, she figured she might as well use her magic for something useful. Gathering her pendant, she chanted._

"_Hear my needs and you shall be useful. Follow my wishes and leave none unfulfilled. I summon thee, worthy being!" White smoke covered the place, and focused on a spot on the floor. Slowly, a figure begun to form._

_She squinted her eyes. This was no ordinary creature she had summoned. Somehow, it was clear how much power it had. However, it didn't really seem dangerous, now that she felt it._

_The features showed up as the smoke dissipated, and Maria saw white and black robes. Then, she saw pale skin and dark hair. Finally, as he looked up, she saw deep black orbs that seemed to look into your very soul._

"_Who are you?" He had blinked owlishly as he stared at her. Striking green eyes stared right back at him, making him wonder how he had gotten here. And why was the place so cold?_

"…" _Truthfully, he was both surprised and scared. Surprised that she didn't know who he was, and scared to give his name, knowing she'd probably run away screaming bloody murder._

_Maria tightened the blanket over her small frame and walked over to the boy standing in the middle of her living room. He couldn't possibly be much older than her 18 year old self._

_He could only stare fearfully at her as she got closer to him. What if he killed her, like he did so many times? No, he didn't want to do that anymore!_

_However, when she was only inches away from him, nothing had happened to her. He had to look down slightly; her height only came to his chin._

"_Who are you?" In his confusing moment of not revealing his name, he threw a question at her instead._

"_Who are you?" His voice wasn't particularly deep, but it had a nice sound. He spoke calmly, even though his eyes told otherwise._

"_Oh, so it talks." She smiled at his confused face. "I'm Maria. Just Maria."_

_His lips formed a thin line. He had to keep her talking; he had to keep distracting her. But also, he had to find out how she had summoned him._

"_Where did you come from?" She grinned, and Zeref briefly wondered what he had said wrong._

"_Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…"_

She had laughed at his face back then, saying something about being 'too amusing and too cute for her to handle.' Later on, she somehow managed to get his name out of him, but thankfully (or not, he couldn't decide) she wasn't aware of how dangerous he could be.

Turning his gaze back to her sleeping face, he played with a lock of her hair.

Briefly, he wondered if he was being too selfish. He could've let her go the moment he noticed how fragile she was. But then again, he didn't want to let her go. Nor he would.

With that thought in mind, he too succumbed to slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

First of all, thank you Nephthys835 and MANGA1 for your more than lovely reviews. People like you keep me going, please do write more~

Also, thank you for all the alerts, I honestly thought this wasn't going to be popular at all~

**Disclaimer:** Everything Fairy Tail related belongs to Hiro Mashima, I only own my OC.

Enjoy~

**II**

One hot, summer day, while Zeref was away, Maria was left to think. Their first meeting wasn't exactly the best one, but really, who was she to complain?

She knew she wasn't that strong, she had made a mistake when summoning. She wasn't complaining, though. No, far from that. Maria was actually very glad she had summoned him.

To tell the truth, she was feeling a little lonely those past days. Her guild had disbanded, and she didn't have many close friends.

But now she had Zeref, and that was more than enough for her. Even though she was pretty, she was quite shy, and that stopped her from having many close friends.

Actually, he was pretty handsome, now that she thought about it. The thought of his well-built body made her blush, making her remember the incident of the other day.

_On a hot, summer day (no, she's not repeating herself), she decided to go buy some popsicles, since she had had nothing better to do and had summoned him._

_Until then, everything was rainbows and butterflies. But when she arrived at her apartment, she found Zeref. Shirtless. With his eyes closed. Sprawled on the floor._

_Now tell me, would you jump him that moment?_

_Maria had to control her over-driving hormones (hadn't she already gone through that time?) from doing exactly that._

_Which was one of the hardest things she'd ever done, let me tell you._

_Breathing deeply, she'd kneeled next to him._

"_Zeref?"_

_When she got no answer, she poked his shoulder and called him again._

"_Zeref?"_

_Sighing, she wasn't going to get anywhere, she knew. She didn't know he was such a heavy sleeper. But then again, they never mentioned the topic, nor had she asked that._

_Bitting her lower lip, she wondered what she could do to wake him. She didn't want to wake him by making noise, simply because she herself hated that._

_While having a debate with herself, she got closer to his face, briefly wondering why he had such a baby face._

_Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and the expected happened. The dark-haired man tried (key word: tried) to get up, and his friend just wasn't fast enough to get out of the way._

_And so their foreheads collided. In that hellish, painful way._

"_Ow!"_

"_Ouch."_

"…"

"_Maria, you're bleeding."_

"_Huh?"_

To say that he'd been freaked out would be an understatement. Even though his exterior was relatively calm, his eyes showed he was having an inner turmoil.

Zeref kept asking things like 'what can I do to help?' or 'should I call someone?' or 'does it hurt?' or 'what can I do to help?' again.

She remembered the way he held her in his (strong, well-built, just freaking awesome) arms as she assured him over and over again that she was just fine.

"Maria? Your face is all red. Do you have a fever?" Startled, she looked away from her spot on the window (yes, she had a spot to daydream) to look at her dark eyed companion.

Blushing deeper, she hid her face and mumbled something incoherent.

Truth was, she had had the urge to hurt herself more often, just to be held in his arms. But she'd seen how distressed he'd been when she'd been hurt because of him.

Well, that was actually her fault, but he wouldn't believe her, no matter what. Why did he have to blame himself so much, she wondered.

She used her red strands of hair to cover her face from his view. It was making her uncomfortable, to say the least.

"What? Maria, what is wrong?" He grabbed her wrists, and made her look at him.

As their eyes locked, she tried to remember how to breathe.

_In. Out. In. Out._

"Maria?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Um, I'm fine." At his obvious 'you're lying' face, she tried to reassure him.

"Really, I'm fine." He gave her a long, meaningful look.

She bit her lower lip, a bad habit of hers.

"Maria?"

"Can you give me a hug?" He looked startled, but didn't make a fuss out of it.

"S-Sure, but I don't see what that has to do with anything…"

Slowly, they wrapped their arms around each other, so that they were resting their faces in each other's neck. Sighing, Maria closed her eyes, quite content in her position.

She couldn't help the smile that crept over her face when he squeezed.

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><p>Alright, it's finished. A little bit of fluff for you guys~<p>

Please tell me what do you think about it~


	3. Chapter 3

First things first, thank you **Nephthys835** for being my beta reader for this story. Really. I love you with all my heart~

Thank you for the reviews and alerts, please do keep going~!

**Disclaimer:** Everything Fairy Tail related belongs to Hiro Mashima, I only own my OC.

Enjoy~

**III (I)**

Zeref had been careless, unusually careless. Normally he would've put a restrain as soon as he realized where the conversation was going, but he just wasn't thinking. He tended to do that around Maria, he now realized.

Just the other day, they were making small talk as they sipped on their milk tea, silently content with the other just being there.

That is, until she made the demonic question.

"Say, Zeref. How old are you actually? I know you're a lot older than me, but honestly you have such a baby face…"

He had put his cup down, glancing at the woman before him.

"Was that a compliment?" Evading the question, he picked up his cup again, taking a long sip.

"Yes, it was. And stop evading the question, just please answer it already." Damn, she had figured him out.

"Much older than you are." Slightly frustrated, she put her own cup down and looked at him until he made eye contact. Sighing, he too put his own cup down, looking at his green-eyed companion dead in the eyes.

"Why do you want to know so badly? I don't think it's a thing worth making such a fuss about-"

"But I want to know more about you! We've known each other for a couple of months now, and I barely know more than your name. I want to know what your favorite color is, what kind of food you like, your likes and dislikes, and even your age. You may not care about all of this, but I do. It's important to me, I want to at least know the basic things since we're living under the same roof."

At the last comment, he awkwardly looked to the side, rubbing his neck. Truth was, they had been living together for some time now, since he felt 'unsettled at leaving her alone'.

"Oh. I, er, had no idea. Sorry, I was being inconsiderate. I-"

"It's ok." He stared baffled at her, more so than he'd been when she finished her little speech. First she practically begged for him to tell her more about him, now she said 'it's ok'? He wasn't ashamed to say that his many years of living helped him understand women as much as when he was 12.

"I'm sorry?" He saw her get up, confused beyond what he thought was possible.

"It's ok, I said. I said something selfish, I did not care for your feelings. I just blurted everything out, and I scared you. I'm sorry." She left her half-drank cup in the kitchen counter and smiled a little.

"It's ok." And then she just left.

Obviously, nothing was ok. She was clearly upset at him, and he didn't even have a clue as to **why**. At first, he hadn't know how to react when she finished speaking, but figured he had to at least say sorry. If he had known she'd get that upset, then he would've said anything else than that.

The next day, it was clear she was still sad about the previous day. She had barely spoken two words to him in that meantime, and honestly, he didn't like that at all.

He wanted his Maria back, and would do everything in his power to bring her back.

Nevermind the fact he had called her his.

* * *

><p>Ok, this is part one. Part two shall come soon, do not worry my babies~!<p>

Also, please review. That sure makes me update faster~


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Everything Fairy Tail related belongs to Hiro Mashima, I only own my OC.

Enjoy~

**IV (II)**

On the following day, Zeref was found pacing in the small apartment while Maria had gone out for groceries.

He didn't recall doing anything wrong, yet he had done just that. Rubbing his temples, a sigh escaped his lips. He wasn't going anywhere, uselessly brainstorming.

The dark-haired mage tried do remember her habits, likes and dislikes, but they hadn't had a conversation like that yet. Suddenly, he realized how little they knew about each other, and yet got so close in such a short time.

He did remember that he once saw an old couple arguing, and how the woman was happy when her spouse gave her a present.

Zeref took a deep breath and decided.

He would give Maria the best present ever.

He just didn't know what yet.

Sighing again, he sat on the small couch and looked at his surroundings. The couch was scarlet, and it reminded him of her hair. On the middle of the room was a small coffee table, right in the middle of a small, old television and a big shelf full of books.

Now that he thought about it, everything about her was lively and colorful. She was always smiling and in high spirits, and that always let him at ease.

The more he treasured life, the more he harmed it. He knew that, and yet he didn't want to let her go. He was being selfish, but he was not going to let go.

Even if sometimes she might not be here for him. Even if she just might slip away if he held too loose, or exploded if he held too tight. Even if she was his happiness (and other's too, why not?) but decided to fly away on a whim.

"Just like a balloon." It was just a whisper, but it was enough for him. He was going to stay by her side, and her his, that he knew.

"I'm home." Her quiet voice echoed in the empty house, her green eyes briefly scanning the room before she took a step.

On that moment, her feet caught on a magic seal, making hundreds of colorful balloons rain on her small frame. Zeref chose that moment to poke his face out of his awesome hiding place – the couch.

Maria blinked owlishly as the balloons kept falling down, the groceries long forgotten on the ground. Soon enough, it stopped, and Zeref gingerly came out from behind the couch, coming to stand right in front of her.

"I know you are angry, but please listen to what I have to say." When she made no move whatsoever, he took that as a sign to continue. "We barely know each other, yes, but I feel extremely attached to you, and I feel as if that isn't that much of a bad thing. I also want to know more about you, and I apologize for not being sincere with you. You took me in even though you knew nothing about me, and for that I can only be forever grateful to you.

"For someone like me, your smile is something I always look forward to when I wake up."

When he finished, he stood there waiting for her to explode and yell at him to leave, but instead all he got was a laugh.

One of those really good laughs, one that came from within that very heart of hers that just warmed up his soul.

And then she hugged him, making him realize that_she_ _fit perfectly in his arms._

And that was totally fine with him, even if he didn't understand what exactly was going on.

Because she had hugged him, that meant she had forgiven him, right?

Well, he would like to think that.

Even though he knew all-too-well that he was being extremely selfish, he didn't mind so long as she didn't as well. Before he learnt the value of life, all he thought about was learning new ways to destroy everything.

When he did realize what life truly meant, he just didn't know what to think of himself anymore.

"Really, you're impossible." As she said those words and just smiled at him, he knew that, if only for now, everything was fine.

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><p>I can't believe I finally updated it x.x So sorry for the long wait guys!<p>

So, I'm currently at a loss. Please tell me ideas for this story! I really don't want to drop it.

Should they come in contact with Fairy Tail or not?


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter is dedicated to **April Marciano** who reviewed all of my stories. Thank you!

Also a big thanks to by beta reader **Nephthys835** who suggested the song :3

**Disclaimer:** Everything Fairy Tail related belongs to Hiro Mashima, I only own my OC.

Enjoy~

**V**

After their first big disagreement (and last; she hoped) the other day, things fell into routine once again.

She'd wake up at 8 AM and take a shower. After she was finished, she'd make breakfast and go wake him up (who'd have known that he was, indeed, a heavy sleeper?). Then she'd go out for her daily run and come back at 11 AM-ish. They'd have lunch together and then go together looking for jobs.

It wasn't easy seeing as she wasn't in an official guild, and the shady guy always hiding behind her didn't exactly help her either.

So, one day, she decided that if he was going to stay at her home, he was going to help somehow.

Let's just say that wasn't her best idea ever.

Zeref had managed to burn the toast, make more dust come in than out of the house, paint the white clothes blue, and so on and so forth.

Maria sighed for the umpteenth time as she folded the now blue clothes. She then looked at Zeref, who looked worse than a kicked puppy. His eyes were downcast, and you could almost see his imaginary fluffy ears down to his head.

Inwardly, she squealed like a little girl. Outwardly, she smiled a little and passed a hand through his thick, black hair. That made him look at her with intense onyx orbs.

"It's fine, no one was born knowing everything." She grinned at him and then went to get some bleach, to see if the clothes returned to normal.

The dark mage, on the other hand, didn't look as convinced. It wasn't the first time he screwed up, and that for him made things worse, since he was just freeloading at her house.

He remembered how she went guild hunting the other day. Of course he went along. He wasn't sure of how strong she was, and also he noticed that he couldn't be away from her for too long.

By the end of the day, the green eyed girl went home a little sad, her dark haired companion trying to comfort her and the guys of the guilds she visited went home crying because of the bloody red eyes Zeref had shown them when they got _too close_ for his liking.

"…ef? Zeref?" Startled, he looked up to meet Maria's dark green orbs.

"Are you ok?" He was seated on the floor, so seeing as she was still standing up, she had to bend her back a little, resting her left hand on the respective knee so she could take a better look at him.

Now, the clothes she wore were more baggy than tight, but that didn't mean she used clothes twice her size. Maria valued comfort more than appearance, and that was a thing that pleased him.

She was wearing a dark purple shirt with her usual black shorts, showing off her smooth, long legs. Those legs that would be the death of him, he was sure.

Seeing as she was still expecting an answer, he gulped inaudibly.

"Yes, I'm fine. How are the clothes?" She then fully stood up, offering her hand to him, which he took.

"Eh, so-so. We still have to wait for them to dry to see." She noticed how Zeref was going to apologize for the 527th time, so she quickly changed the subject.

"So, you never told me what kind of magic you use, or if you are a mage at all."

He froze.

No.

No no no nononononononono NO.

She just did not ask that.

"Zeref?"

She did.

"Well…"

"Well…?"

"Um…"

"…"

"…"

Maria then put a hand on his shoulder, smiling like a mother would.

"It's ok, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." For the first time in a long while, the dark mage wanted to cry. Here she was, giving a stranger shelter and food without asking nothing in return, while he didn't want to tell her who he really was because he was scared she'd run away.

And that was definitely the last thing he wanted. Never he had found someone as kind, as pure, as _unbroken_ as her.

He thought again about his dark past, the past which now he regretted so much.

She turned away to leave, and his hand shot automatically towards hers, making her halt. She looked confused at him.

"Ze-"

"We need to talk." His voice was different, more serious. She had never heard him use that tone, so she turned fully towards him.

"Please listen to me."

"…"

"I might end up taking too long, and I might not be able to convey my feelings very well, but I still want you to listen."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"…"

She adjusted her hand's grip on his as her other one grabbed his left hand. Her forehead touched his as they looked deep into each other's eyes.

"I'm really listening."

He took a deep breath to calm himself and organize his thoughts.

Then, he began.

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><p>ALRIGHT, one more chapter down! This one has a cliffie, because I'm bad like that.<p>

Reviews make me update faster~


	6. Chapter 6

I'm so sorry guys! I didn't mean to disappear like that, but things are complicated and ahsgfdhagsfd I don't need to bore you with the story of my life.

Thank you for the reviews and alerts and favorites even though it's been so long, they make me really happy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail, only my OC.

**VI**

"400 years ago, the magic world was at war. People used magic to cause pain and suffering to one another, and didn't think much of it. There were many battlefields, but one in particular stood out. This one, which was between the two most powerful guilds at the time, lasted too long. In the end, hundreds of people were murdered, with a lonely survivor."

Zeref suddenly stopped talking, the words caught in his throat. Trying to organize his thoughts, he cast his eyes downwards, breaking their eye contact.

"It's okay." He looked at Maria, his panicked expression relaxing seeing her smile at him. "I told you I'd listen, didn't I? Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."

How he wished to hear her say that when he finished his story. The Dark Mage could only hope from within his heart that she'd accept him after she learned of the awful things he did.

Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"The one who survived was a boy, who after seeing so much bloodshed, went berserk. He isolated himself and learned dark magic, on a whim of his madness. Controlled by his nightmares, he quickly mastered all sorts of terrifying spells and created creatures that shouldn't have ever existed. A few of his creations ended up in the hands of questionable people, like the Living Magic spells Lullaby and Deliora.

The boy, satisfied after bringing even more chaos to the world, fell into a deep slumber, only to be awakened hundreds of years later by people who were after his power. He, however, realized that everything he did in the past and simply and utterly wrong, and he truly regretted it. After his awakening, he saw how even the chirping of birds was amazing. He couldn't, for the life of him, fathom why did he cause so much destruction.

Everywhere he went, a trail of dark magic and death followed him closely, even though he thought that life was an inexplicably wonderful thing. Deciding to isolate himself so that he wouldn't cause any more harm, he went to an unpopulated island, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible before someone strong enough came to finally kill him."

The dark haired man squeezed her hands, noting with joy how her eyes never seemed to stray from his face, even if for a split second. When she squeezed back, he finished his story.

"A few months passed, and as he seriously considered going back to the sleep he was under for 400 years, a warm, foreign magic enveloped him, and the darkest mage in history, Zeref, was summoned to the house of a 18 year old girl whose heater had broke in the most unfortunate hour."

After he finished, silence enveloped the room. Neither dared to talk. He had already said everything, and could only hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Thing was, he wasn't prepared. In the least. If Maria decided right then and there that she wouldn't be living with The Killing Mage not even a second longer, if she screamed at him to go away, if she told him she hated him-

He simply wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Having her by his side was as natural as breathing for him, and it hurt him to even think of a life without her.

Never once had he been so terrified in his life.

Not when he saw all the killing those years ago.

Not when he pushed himself to the limit to learn of horrendous magic spells.

Not when he woke up and realized what he had done.

Not when he saw that only death would be his companion.

It was just the mere thought of Maria hating him that made his head spin. He had been so distressed when they'd fought that he couldn't even eat or sleep properly.

And honestly, the silence was killing him. Because even though he dreaded the answer, he _needed to know_ what her opinion was.

So when she wrapped her arms around his torso, he couldn't stop the tears that he had been trying to hold back. The mage also wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck and crying his heart out.

He would never know how someone like her could accept someone like him, who had taken too many lives, but he didn't care, so long as she didn't.

His knees gave in as both fell to the ground, still holding onto each other. One of her hands went to brush his hair in an attempt to calm him down, which only made him cry harder.

The fact that the green eyed girl was still willing to touch him meant that she'd forgiven him, right? He was allowed to think that, right?

Maria gave him time, only hugging him harder when Zeref started to cry more.

Finally, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed both his tear-stained cheeks, making him bite his lips to stop even more tears from coming.

"I… think that The Black Mage was, above all, a victim. No one should have seen what he did. Sure he took lives, but anyone would've fallen into madness after seeing your loved ones killed right in front of your eyes."

She brushed a few strands of his hair from his face, a tear escaping from her eye. His eyes widened at her every word. Not in his wildest dreams she'd have accepted him like that, and he was so happy he just might throw himself out of the window if it had all been a dream.

"Y-You'd really accept someone like me? You'd really let these blood stained hands touch you? You'd let this broken heart beat for you?" His voice shook and so did his hands.

"… if I could be the one to mend your broken heart, to wash your bloodied hands, and especially to care for you, I'd certainly be happy about that." She blushed as she smiled softly at him, kissing both his cheeks one more time before he hugged her even tighter than before, so they were impossibly closer.

Later that night, he pinched himself to make sure that no, that hadn't been a dream and yes, she'd accepted his dark and pitiful self.

If he thought that before they couldn't be separated, now he felt as if they'd have to kill him before the let go of her.

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><p>Hey guyz. This chapter is longer so you don't kill me. And cutie Zeref for you! 'You'd let this broken heart beat for you?' Did I seriously just write something like that? I'm hopeless.<p>

**PLEASE NOTE that this chapter is pretty much original, since the manga doesn't give much information on Zeref's past.**

Review? :3


	7. Chapter 7

AW YEAH, I fixed it. And before the 27th /dances gangnam style

This chapter is dedicated to wolfsrainrules, who suggested a theme and a song and for that I am extremely grateful to you because I had no idea what the next chapter would be about.

Once again, thank you for the reviews and alerts and favorites!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail, only my OC.

Enjoy~

**VII**

The autumn breeze that ruled over Magnolia was chilly, and people had already begun to use warmer clothes.

"Achoo!" It is in this context that we find Maria, a summoning mage, sneezing hopelessly in her bed, while the darkest mage in history, Zeref, sat by her side, looking troubled like never before.

"Maria? Are you okay?" His voice almost sounded like a whine as he looked worriedly at the red-haired girl, squeezing her right hands in his.

"Achoo! Just peachy, Zeref. Just peachy." He almost thought she was being ironic until he saw the smile she gave him.

And it tore his heart apart.

The weather had changed aggressively, and the dark green eyed girl had gotten a cold as soon as the weather had settled down.

Zeref was at a loss. He didn't know what to do- hell, he didn't even know what to think. Was she okay? Was it deadly? Was she in pain? _For heaven's sake, what could he do?_

"Zeref?" His head snapped towards her so fast she was afraid some bone might have broke.

"Yes?"

"Could you do a favor?"

He would even kill if she asked for it.

"Yes, anything."

"Could you please get a clean cloth, sink it in water, twist it and put it on my forehead?"

He got up in a flash and went into a mad search for a clean piece of cloth. While he found a baby blue one –from his previous washing experience- he thanked whatever god there was for making Maria realize that he was absolutely clueless as to how to care for someone sick.

Rushing back to her room after doing everything she said, the dark haired mage gingerly put the wet cloth over her forehead, making the girl look gratefully at him.

"Thank you." It was barely above a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear.

"Is there anything I can do? Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Does it hurt? Are you-"

"Zeref."

"…yes?"

"I want a kiss on the forehead." Immediately, pink covered his cheeks as he fought to understand her words.

" A kiss?" She smiled at him and reached for his hand.

"Yes. I'm tired and sleepy, but sick people can't sleep unless someone gives them a kiss on the forehead."

She was being silly, selfish and overall an awful person for taking advantage of his innocence, but at that moment she was feeling worse by the second and felt that a kiss could be exactly what she needed.

"Is that so?" Zeref looked anywhere but her as he bit his lip. If Maria said so, then it had to be done.

But could he really touch her with his filthy lips? She had already forgiven him, but wasn't this pushing his luck too much? Never mind the fact that she was the one to ask, he felt like an horrible person for even thinking of-

"Zeref?"

His dark orbs stared confusedly at her, showing Maria just how much he was struggling with himself.

"Please?"

To hell with it.

How could anyone refuse her when she lay helplessly in bed, flushed and with her eyes half-lidded, just waiting for him to finally snap out of it?

He kneeled beside her and pressed his lips to her forehead. It was short and sweet, and it made both of their stomachs flip backwards.

He stood up slowly and watched as she sighed contently and closed her eyes, murmuring a thank you.

The Killing Mage's eyes softened as he looked at her sleeping form, and settled for sitting on the ground beside her head, taking her hand in his.

As sleep also took over him, he rested his head against the farthest side of her pillow, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

Seconds later, Maria opened one eye and squeezed his hand, falling asleep, too, with a grin on her flushed face.

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><p>Please remember that suggestions are more than welcome, as well as your honest opinion of this!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Hello my babies! I'm here to wish you a happy (very, veeeery) belated Valentine's Day, since I hadn't been around to update anything. This chapter is dedicated to **enviious**, who suggested a theme, and to **LuxLux1**, who remembered me that this story still exists and that there are people who still read this.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail, only my OC.

Enjoy~

**VIII**

Her lungs _burned_.

Tears streamed down her face and her legs felt like they would leave her on her own at any second.

But she kept running.

She _had _to.

Her green eyes darted between random spots in the thick forest, looking for any signal of her pursuer. The scenery was unnervingly quiet, and her ragged breaths sounded too loud in her own ears.

Just then, a giant dark monster flung it's claws at her out of nowhere, and she barely dodged it. Grabbing her pendant in a death grip, she chanted a quick spell and summoned a kitsune the same size as the monster.

"Get him."

Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough for the kitsune needed to understand that thing was hurting its mistress, and that it needed to be destroyed as soon as possible.

The battle between the two seemed to go on forever, until Maria gathered the very last bit of her magic and prayed.

"Oh ye God, I beg of thee to listen to your humble servant. Give thou being strength and speed, defense and intelligence. I ask in the name of the most sacred liquid!"

Cutting herself with a small dagger, blood started to come out of a cut that covered the whole palm of her right hand. The kitsune, then, glowed briefly and wasted no time in charging at the creature.

* * *

><p>His lungs <em>burned.<em>

Desperation was clear in his face and it was the only thing moving his legs.

So he may have done all of her jobs in five seconds.

So he may have told her to just hide.

He understood her every time she refused to hide and wanted to help because that was _her_ job.

But what if she got hurt?

He couldn't- no. He wouldn't have that.

Ok, so he recognized he was a_ little_ over-protective and tried to understand her wanting to go on a job alone, but something just didn't feel _right_.

A couple of hours after she left, Zeref couldn't shake the feeling off that something wasn't right.

Her job was simple. She just had to escort a merchant who was afraid of some thieves.

And yet he ran with all his might to find her, to make sure the feeling was just him being paranoid.

However, when he saw the monster about to attack her, all he saw was red.

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><p>Everything happened so fast, she wasn't even sure if it really happened.<p>

One moment, her kitsune had defeated the large being with a swift attack.

The other, a blur of black had come from her right straight to a spot on her left, mere feet away. Her crimson locks swung around her face when she turned around to look, and her eyes widened in both shock and horror.

Another monster, much bigger than the one she had just defeated, lay burning in the middle of terrifying black flames, and a lone figure stood there, silently watching the creature cry in agony.

Merciless, blank crimson eyes stared at the shrieking creature, death practically forming a protective circle around him.

Maria stared, horrified, as Zeref impassively made his way over to her kitsune, in his hand a dark, unknown magic already forming.

Zeref thought her kitsune was a threat too!

Gathering the strength she didn't know she still possessed, the green eyed girl stood up on shaky legs and ran, literally, to her death.

Almost tripping on the way over to him, tears once again blurred her vision as he seemed to get further away each passing second.

Finally, _finally_, she reached him and didn't think twice before putting her thin and bruised arms around his torso, effectively stopping him.

"Zeref."

He stood rigid, the dark ball of his spell slowly burning her skin.

"Please stop."

He whipped his head to look at her, crimson eyes screaming death.

"Please."

She looked at him with those eyes of hers. Those eyes, of which he dreamed about so often, glistened with tears as she begged at him.

And then, nothing.

* * *

><p>Zeref woke abruptly, covered in cold sweat. He frantically looked around only to realize he was home.<p>

Home.

Where Maria was.

Maria.

MARIA.

Where was she? Was she okay? What about the job? Just what had happened?

He stood up from the bed in milliseconds and ran, finding Maria curled up on the couch, a small creature resting on her shoulder looking at him with vigilant eyes. As soon as she saw him, she got up and cupped her hands around his cheeks, his eyes begging for her to explain.

"Are you okay?" The green-eyed girl asked him. He didn't answer. Instead, he took her bandaged hands in his, and took a good look at her.

Bandages covered both her arms, from her feet to her knee and around her forehead, not to mention the various cuts and scratches that seemed to cover her whole body.

"Are you?" He asked.

She nodded, closing her eyes.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. All I know is that you were scary."

His eyes widened and he suddenly let go of her, as if his hands were burning.

The creature he now recognized as a kitsune seemed to narrow its eyes at him, as if telling him to back off.

"I-I was terrified, Zeref. You told me you were scary, I read in books you were scary, but I never thought I would be seeing that side of you." Tears threatened to fall from green eyes as her hugged herself, and the Dark Mage took a step back.

By the Gods, no.

He had hurt her.

He had been the one to hurt the very reason he was alive.

"But please-"

She reached for him, and he took another step back.

Her eyes widened and a tear fell.

"Zeref?"

"…"

"Zeref, please, listen to me. Let me finish. Please."

"…"

"Please promise me you'll never be like that again. That you'll never get out of control like that again. Please, Zeref, promise me."

"…did I…"

"…what?"

"Did I do that to you?"

His dark bangs covered his eyes, and she couldn't see his expression. He gingerly mentioned her bandaged self and she took a step towards him.

"No. It wasn't you. You almost burned an entire city down, but even in that state, you didn't even get close to me. You protected me, Zeref."

Maria, then, took that one remaining step and hugged him loosely, resting her head on his shoulder.

For a while, he didn't move, nor did he talk. There was no sound as she let the information sink in, hugging him tighter each passing second.

Finally he slowly hugged her back, pressing her impossibly closer to him.

"I promise."

She smiled, burying her face in his chest.

"I promise. I won't scare you anymore. I will protect you properly. So please don't- don't give up on me, please."

"I would never give up on you. But you can't give up on me either. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>On the following day, she woke up only to find herself unable to move. She opened her eyes and white covered her vision. Looking up, she saw Zeref's calm sleeping face and noticed his arms around her.<p>

Realizing they had fallen asleep on the couch, she sighed and closed her eyes with a smile, preparing to fall asleep once more.

Things weren't exactly perfect, but she was content.

Little did she know her life was about to get a lot more hectic.

* * *

><p>Holy-<p>

I have no excuses.

Except for college.

College is a good excuse, yes?

Yes?

No?

Okay.

Please, do review!


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